Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33825304›Full record

Trial reportPaediatric anaesthesia2021

The effect of dexmedetomidine premedication on postoperative systemic inflammatory response in children undergoing hernia repair surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Zhen Du, Si-Wei Wei, Xi-Ying Zhang, Zhen Xiang, Shuang-Quan Qu

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Paediatric anaesthesia, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Antianxiety effects of dexmedetomidine: systematic review and meta-analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Zhen DuDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hunan Children' Hospital, Changsha, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2688-6538
Si-Wei WeiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hunan Children' Hospital, Changsha, China.
Xi-Ying ZhangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hunan Children' Hospital, Changsha, China.
Zhen XiangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hunan Children' Hospital, Changsha, China.
Shuang-Quan QuDepartment of Anesthesiology, Hunan Children' Hospital, Changsha, China.
Hunan Children's Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSurgery results in systemic inflammation, which can affect the central nervous system, leading to changes in mood, emotion, and behavior. Our previous study has shown that compared to midazolam, dexmedetomidine premedication effectively decreased children's postoperative anxiety.

aimTo investigate whether dexmedetomidine infusion before hernia repair alleviates postoperative systemic inflammation in children and whether postoperative anxiety may be associated with postoperative inflammation.

methodsThis prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in 120 children scheduled to undergo elective hernia repair. Before anesthesia induction, all children received an intravenous infusion consisted of dexmedetomidine (n = 40; 0.5 µg/g, group D), midazolam (n = 40; 0.08 mg/kg, group M), or normal saline (n = 40; group C). One-way ANOVA with least significant difference multiple comparison test was used for multigroup comparisons of postoperative plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines and m-YPAS scores. Spearman rank correlation tests were used for analyzing m-YPAS scores with postoperative plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines.

resultsPlasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (7.0 ± 1.6 vs. 8.1 ± 1.6, mean difference [95% CI]: 1.19 [0.26-2.11], p = .008) (pg/ml) and of interleukin-6 (1.8 ± 1.2 vs. 3.3 ± 1.6, mean difference [95% CI]: 1.49 [0.74-2.25], p < .001) (pg/ml) and neutrophils-to-lymphocyte ratio (1.0 ± 0.5 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7, mean difference [95% CI]: 0.48 [0.17-0.78], p < .001) were significantly lower in group D than in group C. Furthermore, compared to group M, group D showed significantly lower plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels (7.0 ± 1.6 vs. 7.9 ± 1.9, mean difference [95% CI]: 0.96 [0.04-1.88], p = .04) (pg/ml) and interleukin-6 levels (1.8 ± 1.2 vs. 2.9 ± 1.5, mean difference [95% CI]: 1.06 [0.31-1.81], p = .004) (pg/ml), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (1.0 ± 0.5 vs. 1.5 ± 0.6, mean difference [95% CI]: 0.42 [0.11-0.72], p = .004). Anxiety scores at postoperative 2 and 4 h in the three groups positively correlated with plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines.

conclusionA single preoperative intravenous dexmedetomidine dose in children undergoing same-day surgery reduces postoperative systemic inflammation.

Indexed as

DexmedetomidineChildDouble-Blind MethodHerniorrhaphyHumansHypnotics and SedativesPremedicationProspective StudiesSystemic Inflammatory Response SyndromeDexmedetomidineHypnotics and Sedativesanti-inflammatorydexmedetomidinemidazolampediatricspostoperative anxietysurgery

Identifiers

PMID33825304
PMCPMC8251734
OpenAlexW3144894581

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.